Tips for Holiday eating

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With the holidays coming up I know im gonna have a hard time staying on low calorie diet. so what are some of your tricks that you use to combat that? thanks!

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  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    There are no tricks involved and its the easiest thing to do because hopefully you have been already doing this..

    Plan your meals ahead of time.... it is really as simple as that... plan the day out so you wont feel deprived...
  • RNMDFF
    RNMDFF Posts: 153 Member
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    My family doesn't do holiday parties. :( So we don't have anywhere to go for me to be tempted. I have a work holiday party but the food is never good. The desserts are usually homemade and I don't trust the people I work with lol.

    good luck.
  • JoyfulSparkle
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    me, too! bump
  • TinaLTaylor79
    TinaLTaylor79 Posts: 140 Member
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    Just try and keep ypur portions small and try not to go back for seconds! If you want a cookie, chocolate, cake ect...have one cookie, instead of many, have a small peice of cake.....just keeping it small will help even it out....keep working out!:)
  • misscristie
    misscristie Posts: 643 Member
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    My husband and I are going to a Ranch for Thanksgiving and going hiking, four wheeling, skeet shooting etc to help avoid the food. LOL
  • bjberry
    bjberry Posts: 665 Member
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    If you are doing the cooking, replace oils in baked goods with applesauce. And replace regular milk in the mashed potatoes with skim milk. If you must use fats, try for mono or unsaturated oils in place of solid fats of any kind. If you have to choose what type of pasta to eat, go for the tomato-based instead of the creamy. Make sure you get a large portion of fresh fruits or vegetables and small portions of the meats and carbs. If you want to eat bread, go small and only add veggie toppings, not butter. And finally, move those feet during parties---dance, dance, dance! ;)
    And have fun! :drinker: (lots of water)
  • capriciousmoon
    capriciousmoon Posts: 1,263 Member
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    If there's a veggie tray I go for that first. With dinner I go for protein and veggies before anything else and usually avoid the breads and similar items (high cal, not filling). When it comes to desserts, I'll pick the one I want most and have a small serving.

    I'm used to going for a walk between the dinner and dessert on holiday meals, but that doesn't seem common anymore so I'll go for a walk before or after.
  • kodibear123
    kodibear123 Posts: 185 Member
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    The holidays is indeed a trying time to diet! I look at this as a lifestyle, not a diet. I would suggest eating as healthy as you can each and every day. On the actual holiday, Thanksgiving for example, I will eat healthy all day except for dinner where I would plan to have my "free meal". I have found for me that if I try to make lighter type foods for the holidays I feel that I miss out on the holiday and overeat later. This has worked for me very well for me. As I cook holiday meals I am somewhat mindful of how much butter I am using in the potatoes but then again, if I watch my diet up until then I don't worry about it too much. What is mashed potatoes without real butter? I will say I try to have vegtables cut up as appitizers etc..... I hope this helps. Just remember a to treat the holiday as one day, not days! Happy Holidays! :drinker:
  • shellimus
    shellimus Posts: 158 Member
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    During the day, eat when your body calls for food (people sense this differently, might be a growling stomach, light-headed, slight headache, crabby feeling) . If you aren't sure if you are hungry, wait.

    Then at a holiday meal, before you fill your plate, don't just load the plate a mile high, ask yourself how hungry you are. Then slow down and with every bite, be fully aware of your hunger. Have one bite of each thing on your plate so that if you start to get full you have "tried" everyone's dish. Then don't "clean your plate," instead, be done when you sense a feeling of satisfaction (politely full, but NOT stuffed). When it comes time for dessert, do this again. If you are not hungry at dessert time, skip it! Have a cup of hot tea instead.

    This is a great way to curb calories, because you still get to enjoy the foods you love, just less of them and you feel satisfied because you know you are not really hungry.
  • msmayor
    msmayor Posts: 362 Member
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    Since I do the cooking my family has already asked are we having "diet food" I replied with what is diet food.... with that said I'm going to try to cut corners the best way I can as I prepare my meal - I'm cooking for over 20 ppl or so and I have not mastered the "better ingrediants" yet - but I will work my butt off and plan not to over indulge.....and eat light throughout the day and have a nice meal with my family.....